This year, COVID-19 changed academic life as we moved from on-campus learning to remote learning. For me, it was an easy transition.

The professors were helpful and had lectures up and ready for the week. They were prompt to answer questions and emails, and most posted extra Q and A videos online, which gave all students insight into the questions other students were asking – to make sure that everyone was on the same page.

One of my classes had real-time Zoom meetings, and, in a few ways, it was more interactive than being in class because more people used the chat feature. The professor asked the class questions throughout the class meeting and would always answer questions that were asked in the chat. It made the class atmosphere feel even livelier than a regular lecture classroom.

I also felt encouraged while in quarantine during spring semester. I received a phone call from an IUPUI staff member who wanted to know if I was alright and needed anything at all. It’s very thoughtful of IUPUI to take the time to check up on their students like that.

Schoolwork did not change significantly; each professor reworked the course syllabus to be more flexible with the sudden change to remote learning. For team projects, we used a lot of messaging, Google docs and Zoom to communicate. It’s not much different than meeting in the library. We just had to hold each other accountable and send out reminders about working on the project and meeting due dates. A tip for good team project coordination: Send a group message to let teammates know when you’re working on the project, and that way, someone else can join you. This works because it lets your team members know you’re taking the project seriously, which is helpful when your peers fill out evaluations at the end of a project, and most of the time, you will get another team member to work on it with you.

Keeping my on-campus internship in the Kelley Office of External Affairs at IUPUI and working from home was a benefit, to say the least. For me and the other interns in the office, it is possible to do our jobs remotely, but I know that’s not the case for other campus jobs. IUPUI was generous enough to keep paying their student-employees through that semester, so they didn’t miss out on any opportunities.

To combine my internship and schoolwork, I created a daily schedule to keep me on task. My schedule includes health and wellness, work hours, lunch, Zoom classes and time to do homework or projects. This may sound like a long day, but it’s not at all. Having some structure in quarantine helped me to meet deadlines and keep my priorities in check.

In the fall, I expect campus to be different, but I’m looking forward to it. The way we sit in a classroom will change, and some classes will be hybrid or taught entirely online. However, I believe I will receive the same great education. The spring semester taught me that change does not have to be taken negatively. It’s important to be able to adapt to new circumstances when faced with adversity.

I am most excited to build connections with new professors and classmates in the upcoming semester. I stayed connected with my project team members through texting, which was an easy way to communicate. I’m plugged in with my Kelley friends on social media like Instagram and Snapchat. This is a great way to get to know your classmates’ interests and hobbies more outside of class.

Student organizations have been affected by the pandemic, as well. Organizations are about the people, and the organizations I am in, like the Student African American Sisterhood and the Black Student Union, have reached out to students and families to help. They’ve sent out resources, created fundraisers and held food drives. They communicated with members through GroupMe and posted flyers of events on Instagram. They really tried to give back to the community around IUPUI through these challenging times. That is the type of commitment I saw when choosing the right college for me as an incoming freshman. I wanted a diverse welcoming campus. IUPUI and the Kelley School of Business have done just that, even through a pandemic.

Written by: Lidaou Edjeou, BS’21